My mission is to see the Flames play in all 30 NHL arenas, a mission that began in October of 2005 while at a local pub watching the Flames take on the Oilers. With the previous season’s work stoppage, and the season before’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Flames tickets had become a very hard item to come by. I was then struck with the idea of combining two of my favourite activities; watching hockey and travelling. You can follow my quest to visit all 30 arenas right here…
March 3, 2007 – Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
The Battle of Alberta. I don’t think it gets much better as far as rivalries go. True, this rivalry is not as intense as it was in the 1980’s, but there’s still a strong hatred between the two teams. For my first trip to the Chuck, I rounded up a group of ten Flames fans, and we headed North in a rental van. Getting ready for a game at Rexall had a different feel than previous road trips, as we were heading to an arena filled with actual hockey fans; and not just hockey fans, but Oiler fans. For weeks I prepared by talking slowly and avoiding words with more than two syllables.
To set the mood on the trip up the #2, we drank beer (well everybody else did, as I was driving the van) and watched a DVD of game six of the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals. It was great to see fans cheering for a game that took place 18 years earlier as if they had never seen it before.
We arrived at our hotel in downtown Edmonton a little later than we had planned, so we dropped the luggage and van off, and headed directly to the rink on Edmonton’s LRT. As we made the brief walk from the hotel to the nearest station, all clad in red, waving Flames flags and hollering, we were greeted with honking horns, obscenities and several flipped birds. It was great! The LRT station at Rexall is immediately beside the arena, making it great for going to a game.
Entering Rexall, we ran into our first problem; they wouldn’t let us bring our Flames flag in to the building. The reason was that the flag was attached to a three foot wooden dowel, which Rexall security said could be used as a weapon. Despite our pleading, we were forced to check our flag in with Public Relations, for pick up after the game. It pissed me off pretty good, as I purchased the flag in the Saddledome, during a Flames game, and had bought it specifically for this trip. We continued, flag-less, into the seating bowl to watch the warm-up that had just begun. Looking to capitalize on the Oilers trade of Ryan Smythe only one week earlier, we had come equipped with a homemade sign that read “Brrrrr….it’s cold in Edmonton. It’s -94!!” The sign was great for some laughs, and we even managed some chuckles from Petr Nedved and a couple of other Oiler players.
Our seats were in the 2nd level, and we paid handsomely for them. It wasn’t easy to get ten tickets together, but I found these on StubHub with the only catch being we had to pay much more than face value. However, it beat watching the game on TV. During a quick stop at the concessions before heading to the seats, we came across perhaps the most fitting concession in the NHL; perogies. Like tacos at a game in California, perogies just fit with Edmonton!
The game was a great one to attend, as the Flames dominated from start to finish, and defeated the Oilers 4-2. Yelle, Moss, Langkow and Iginla were all able to slip the puck past Dwayne Roloson (not necessarily an exclusive club), while Fernando Pisani scored both Oiler goals on what can only be described as bullshit luck. Few things in life are as sweet as beating the Oilers, and I was quite relieved to leave Rexall Place with a victory; the last thing I wanted to do was walk around Edmonton listening to Oiler fans yapping away.
To celebrate the Flames’ triumph, we headed to a downtown bar, which as we sat down was beginning to show the game’s replay on CBC. We got to go through the entire game again over beer and pizza, and were able to throw a couple more jabs at some of the Edmontonians in the bar.
Seven arenas down, twenty-three to go…
-TheRev
Rexall Place Fast Facts
Seats: Section 232; a lot of $$$’s; Stubhub
Score: Flames 4, Oilers 2
Arena Rating: 7.2/10
Unique Concession: Perogies
Souvenir Stick: Blue, Oilers, plastic
Public Transit: LRT station right next to the arena
Unique Arena Trait: Dressing room access is through the concourse
Swag: None
